Steady Warmth
by sctwilightvampwolfgal
Summary: Sometimes the worst kinds of days just needed the simplest of answers. *Written for Day Three of Miraculous Ladybug Valentine's Event Week.*


It was easy to get all caught up in worried thoughts that ran tangents and circles all through your head: far too easy. Ladybug sighed as she gazed out over Paris, trying to fight those stubborn, little thoughts and yet not fully trying to fight them. It was late, and it was cool. Very few stars dared to twinkle in the night sky, and it felt almost as if the night air was growing denser and turning into fog around them, the lone inhabitants of Paris that dared to just cross the street and _move _on a mostly still night like tonight.

Her eyes flickered to her partner, but her mind was far from him. Just, everything today felt as if it just oozed out from everywhere to make it one of those worst days ever, the kind that swam and swirled through your mind whenever you were still or whenever you were trying to just focus and kept on piling up stubbornly. She remembered how classes that day droned on as sleepiness caught up to her, and it took all she had to stay awake in class as her eyes tried to slip shut, but she refused to let it get ahold of her, not after the last time that she'd done so and her parents were upset with her, Alya teased her, and she genuinely felt the need to better herself. Ladybug was better than falling asleep in class or so she tried to tell herself when her eyelids starting to droop, but Ladybug was tired, too.

There'd been a terribly long Akuma fight the night before, that interrupted her solo patrol that led to relatively sore muscles today, to a tired mind that hated how classes dragged on when you couldn't quite will your mind to focus right and then just starting counting the minutes by checking the time every other second and trying to be discrete about just how blank and droopy your mind felt. You didn't want to be caught in your tiredness unless someone noticed and tried to help you out, but as a superhero, you never wanted to be caught up in tiredness. If you were tired and someone asked about the night before, you'd have to lie or come up with some half truth which was both hard when you're tired and just as frustrating and disturbing to put yourself through even when you're awake.

If you're masked up, then that means you can't let a villain see your weakness to take advantage of your exhaustion, or for you to slip up and lose focus. It also felt like a terrible defeat if civilians saw you and just wondered and hypothesized and generally tried to figure out why an invincible superhero suddenly seemed not so invincible and more human. There was too much at stake to just be tired without fighting back.

Orders at the bakery piled up, and an afternoon of work on top of homework piled up and made her feel exhausted as if breaks never came, especially as she now had a moment where she was supposed to be patrolling but wasn't really attentive. They'd had another Akuma earlier that day. It was one of Hawkmoth's busier days as in less than twenty four hours, two Akumas had been out and about. Ladybug really should focus, but it felt near impossible to even try to make her mind pay attention to what mattered as it ran and ran in circles, just reviewing the day, and becoming more agitated.

"Here." Cat Noir stopped by her side, holding a nice, hot to go cup of something. "You looked like you needed it."  
Ladybug took it with a muttered, "Thank you." What do you say when your partner notices your exhaustion, knows the cause of it, relatively, and helps you out? You don't have to lie to him about it or explain it unneccessarily, but you don't really want to bother trying to either.

She took a sip and was relieved when the sweet bite of chocolate touched her tongue instead of the coffee that she was both expecting and dreading, "Thank you." She tried again a little louder, a little more meaningfully and less surprised.

"No problem." Cat Noir stared down at Paris from her side, "You look lost." It's a simple observation spoken so sadly and softly that it became obvious that he had his moments where he was just plain lost as well, as the day's stresses and incidental drama caught up with him, when his mind just wandered without fail and when he needed someone to listen without needing to ask about it. You have to learn to listen to the little things.

"Yeah." It's painful as it clogs up her throat in a way that she really wishes it wouldn't, "I am." It's all that she wants to say on this cool night, holding hot, hot chocolate and trying not to daydream about the moments that she hated about the day and how much she missed the steady warmth of her bed with her sheets tucked around her, dreaming softly as if she were still a little kid with no superpowers, no Kwami, no mask, no having to become a hero in big ways instead of small, little ways that no one counts.

Cat Noir sits down on the rooftop, kicking his feet out in front of him, and somehow she knows that that's a sign to sit down by his side and just wait for a while. He doesn't say anything, doesn't motion her close, and definitely doesn't startle when she sits very close. She needs to feel the warmth that rolls off of him, needs to feel it to remind her that he's real beside her, and that he's ready to listen to all of the little things that don't make up a story.

To have someone who just _knows, _who just understands, and doesn't question feels like the best gift that he could have given her, though the gift could be wrapped up in many different kinds of bows. It could be friendship that strengthens in a light purple, something profound and simple all at once, and full of a steady love for all the quiet moments, for the listening moments, for the sharing moments, and beyond. A friendship that is strong and never breaks like everyone always fears that friendship will.

It could be wrapped in a bright pink bow, something like romance as if somehow he's become everything to her as he hears her heart's tempo in a way that no one else hears it in, even those who also imagine that they love her. It takes someone truly special to hear your heart's tempo, as every beat is absolutely precious and unique and wonderful.

Or, it could be wrapped in a dull gray bow that tells you that they are partners at work, that they need to look out for each other in all the little ways that count as a necessity of the job. You couldn't let your partner burn and sting when you could help them out after all.

She doesn't know what it is, but Ladybug rests her head on his shoulder, nestling half-up against his side, still sometimes sipping hot cocoa even if it was a little hot for this night that was only cool, not freezing, but this was all that she wanted and needed. A moment to chase away any wandering, frustrating thoughts with steady warmth, sweet hot cocoa, and a companionship that that will keep her going at her lowest.


End file.
